Solutions in search of a problem: Brennan Center’s ‘Criminal Justice in President Trump’s First 100 Days’ report

The Brennan Center for Justice just released Criminal Justice in President Trump’s First 100 Days. The analysis looks at what President Trump and his administration have said and done “so far to address crime and justice, and what the country can expect in the weeks and months ahead.” Here’s a snip from the report’s Executive Summary:

So far, many of the administration’s actions are symbolic. But they evidence a clear return to the discredited “tough on crime” rhetoric of the 1990s, and suggest a significant departure from the Obama administration’s approach to criminal justice. Trump’s turn also directly contradicts the emerging consensus among conservatives, progressives, law enforcement, and researchers that the country’s incarceration rate is too high, and that our over-reliance on prison is not the best way to address crime. As crime remains near historic lows — despite local, isolated increases — these proposed changes are, ultimately, solutions in search of a problem. Taken to an extreme, they would set back the national trans-partisan movement to end mass incarceration.

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